This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Kilifi County Governor Amason Kingi officially commissioned a Sh 680 million ultra-modern medical complex to combat the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the region.
The three-storey building, located within the Kilifi County Referral Hospital, is designed to serve as a referral center for the counties of Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, and Kwale.
Phase one of the project, which was commissioned by Governor Kingi, has six Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds fully equipped with ventilators to handle severe Covid-19 cases.
The facility, named 'The Kilifi County Covid-19 Complex,' also includes a doctors' residence with a capacity of 14 medical officers who are frontline soldiers in the fight against the pandemic.
Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Governor Kingi emphasized that his administration had opted to open the first phase of the project to handle Covid-19 as it awaits the completion of the entire project.
When fully complete, the complex will house a Cancer Centre, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and a High Dependence Unit (HDU) among other specialized units, equipped with modern radiology equipment such as CT Scans.
However, Governor Kingi expressed concern over the manner in which some residents were still using panya-routes to cross in and out of the county while others still drink palm wine and conduct burial ceremonies without observing the Covid-19 rules.
The ceremony was witnessed by among others Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa and her Kaloleni counterpart Paul Katana, Kilifi County Commissioner Magu Mutindika, and Kilifi County Assembly Majority Leader Adamson Mwathethe.
